Page 21 of Love Unscripted
Camille stood.
“No,” she said. “What you’re asking me to do is compromise my ethics.”
“I’m asking you to stay the course until the end of the season.”
“I won’t do it,” Camille said.
“Then I hope,” Rita said carefully, “that your principles are as strong as you believe they are. Because they’re about to be very expensive.”
“I have to go, Mama,” she said evenly. “Filming starts soon.”
She ended the call before Rita could respond.
~*~*~*~
A moment after Camille ended the call, there was a tap at her trailer door.
She opened to find Tiffany Davis standing there. Tiffany was a beautiful black woman with a smooth café au lait complexion, high cheek bones and full lips. Camille had often found their interactions pleasant and noted that Aaron seemed to depend upon her and trust her efficiency. They seemed to be quite the team. She would almost be jealous but for the fact that Tiffany seemed happily married to one of the camera crew. Plus, like every other female member of the cast and crew Aaron treated her more like a sister than a romantic interest.
“Message from Aaron.”
Camille blinked, refocusing her thoughts.
“Yes?”
“He wants you to meet him for dinner tonight at Frank’s Diner at 6:00 p.m. after filming wraps up.”
“He what?”
“There is a business matter he needs to discuss with you.”
Camille sighed. She would love to say ‘no can do’ but somehow she didn’t think that would go over well. Things had not exactly been going amicably between Aaron and her lately. she didn’t need to make it worse be refusing his dinner invitation.
She nodded. “Sure. I’ll be there.”
“Great. Filming restarts in 15 minutes.”
The message settled heavily on her shoulders when Tiffany left. The dinner invitation from Aaron felt ominous, and her mind raced with worst-case scenarios. The fight on set loomed large in her thoughts, and the fear of being fired gnawed at her. She couldn’t afford to lose this role; it was more than just a job—it was her lifeline.
Chapter5
As Aaron sat alone at a corner table in the dim restaurant, he replayed the meeting with marketing for the third time.
On paper, it hadn’t been bad. Productive, even. Everyone had smiled. Everyone had nodded.
But the subtext had teeth.
Christopher Baker—Chris to everyone—ran Silverline Pictures’ marketing division with the precision of a general planning a long campaign. Affirm Films, the faith-based studio under Silverline Pictures had built its reputation on biblical films that balanced spiritual integrity with mainstream appeal. Their global distribution, reliable partnerships, and disciplined branding made their projects dependable earners.
Dependable being the operative word. Dependability required order. Predictability. Delivery. And week ten was looking anything but predictable. The conference room had been crowded with visuals—teaser posters, digital campaign mock-ups, motion graphics, curated taglines, and three competing trailer structures. Chris had guided them through it all with brisk confidence, highlighting the film’s scale, its emotional arc, the spiritual stakes that would resonate across cultures.
Then he reached the slide Aaron had been dreading.
“For the teaser,” Chris had said, clicking forward, “we need a strong hero shot of Esther. Something iconic. Regal. Steadfast. Camera-ready.”
A still filled the screen—Camille in full costume from week four. Radiant. Commanding. Perfect.
“Problem is,” Chris continued smoothly, “we need updated material. Preferably from the throne room scenes. Something that shows emotional intensity.”
